Service please South Africa

Do I complain too much, I wondered, as I hung-up on the assistant at my accountant’s office. Or am I simply expecting too much from the people I interact with on a daily basis? The way things are going I’ll be forever compartmentalised as a “whingeing” So

Its 5:50pm, Friday 20 August 2010. Today I decided to tackle a number of administrative tasks I’ve been meaning to attend to for the last week or two. Step one was to find out what happened to the annual financial report I’d requested from my accountant almost six weeks ago. For the record – I drew up the financials – printed them out and collated them – and dropped them off in person at his office. He smiled – shook my hand and promised he’d check the work and type up the reports within “one week”. Incidentally, this morning’s call wasn’t my first attempt to get these documents. I’d placed a call to his office on Wednesday – when I was given the now standard “we’ll phone you back” rebuff.

Show us the money first!

My English is clearly not as good as the next mans. In my English the words “we’ll call you back” suggest my phone should ring at some stage on the same day. It seems what the entirely pleasant young lady wanted to say (two days ago) was: “I’m really busy right now – how about you call me back, hopefully when I’m less busy. When I reached here this morning (at 10am) I was told the reports were ready, but there was the small matter of around R2 000 which I should please deposit with them before I could collect. Well hallelujah! Progress at last.

I’ve no qualm with their request for immediate payment, but hesitated when they requested settlement without first invoicing me. What’s this country coming too? After some gentle persuasion I managed to coax an emailed invoice from the firm, and will process payment this weekend to complete my “one week” transaction by the beginning of week seven. My accountant wasn’t the only person messing with my administrative progress.

I’ve been waiting – since 21 July – for my dentist to report back on some work she wanted to do on my teeth. A month ago I sat through bunches of tests and x-rays – paid my bill – and been stuck in the “we’ll call you back” limbo ever since. Finally, when I couldn’t hold out any more, I placed a call to her office. The dentist wasn’t available when I made the 10:30 call – and I’ve been waiting for her return call since. And because there’s nobody on duty over the weekend I’ll be going through the “dialling” motions again on Monday morning.

Stop wasting my time and your employer’s money!

Why do I get so annoyed? Surely I should pick up the phone and redial if I’m desperate for quick answers? I’m not so sure! I can understand someone ignoring my request for information if I’m harassing them, or trying to sell them something, or hounding them for comment for an investigative article. But when I’m picking up the phone to spend money on their goods and services? Just look at these “real life” examples drawn randomly from my day – TODAY!

This morning I phoned a rental agency about a property they’d advertised in the local paper. The person who answered the phone didn’t know what property I was referring to. Her solution: “Please give me your number and I’ll get Leon* to call you back.” I’m still waiting as I type these lines, and unless I call her again, I’ll still be waiting when you read this. Late yesterday afternoon I telephoned a security company to request a quote for burglar proofing at a property I own. And this morning I had to trawl through my files to find the direct number of the company’s sales person (the guy who previously installed at my office) in the hope I’d get a better response “going direct” [My apologies to all the hard working insurance brokers who read my columns!]

At 1:45pm I called a local travel insurance company to “buy” some travel insurance for an overseas trip I’ll be taking shortly. Would you believe the consultants were all busy, but would call me back momentarily? That’s what they told me. I’m still waiting for their call – but it really doesn’t matter anymore – because I’ve since purchased the insurance online. I write extensively on topics in the financial services environment. My readers – mostly financial intermediaries – wouldn’t survive more than six months if they treated their customers or leads in the way I’ve mentioned here… And heaven forbid they behaved like estate agents!

Don’t get me started on estate agents

I’ve been house hunting for about six months now and the quality of estate agent I’ve dealt with – without exception – has been appalling. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking a swipe at their personality, perseverance or enthusiasm, but rather their limited knowledge on the properties they’re selling. In my view you’re well advised to check every fact and figure an estate agent gives you. It started with the first house I really liked. The advert promised 250m² of house on a 1 000m² stand. The house felt a bit pokey as I walked through it – so I went and checked the plans at the town council. Interesting! It turns out the house was actually 210m². The estate agents “we said plus minus” holds no sway, because the area “missing” from her estimate was the equivalent of a double garage. Since then I’ve been lured to a 249m² house which shrunk to 215m² (the agents’ admission) and 205m² (when I checked the plans). And my personal favourite: A home advertised at 320m² which turns out to be 250m² under roof with an enclosed thatch ‘lapa’ of some 30m². Incidentally the ‘lapa’ doesn’t show on the plans as required by municipal building regulations.

I’ve all heard the phrase “buyer beware!”, but in my view a professional estate agent should have checked these “facts” when listing the home. How on earth can they market something if they haven’t properly assessed each of its component parts?

Editor’s thoughts: I recently learned of a great initiative called Lead South Africa (http://www.leadsa.co.za/). The movement encourages us all to do our best to make this country the best in the world. I’d love every single person in the service industry to spend some time on the website and commit to just one thing: to give 100% to delivering the service they’d expect from others. It would certainly help to keep my blood pressure down! If you’d like to share a customer service rant of your own then feel free to add your comments below, or send them to [email protected]